


before your demons

by wilsonsnest



Series: food for demons [4]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst with a Happy Ending, Demons, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, Witches, hopefully as angsty as this series ever gets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 13:59:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16703761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wilsonsnest/pseuds/wilsonsnest
Summary: “Roman,” Dean’s voice was small and unsure. “Why didn’t you go home?”Roman would be lying if he said he hadn't been hurt when Dean left him.





	before your demons

**Author's Note:**

> Hey its more demon verse!! 
> 
> This is a little more angsty than my usual flavor for this particular verse. But it had to be done so that we could introduce ol' Dean to this universe.
> 
> Also should be some more clues coming together into this chapter.
> 
> Takes place after 'facing your demons' and before 'dogs and demons'.

Roman stood in the bathroom of his boyfriend’s apartment, brushing his teeth and looking pensively into the mirror, trying to remember if he had truly remembered to set out all of his ingredients for the next morning. He was still getting used to the whole ‘sleeping at his boyfriend’s’ thing, and was still paranoid about being late to start work in the morning. Finn never failed to get him to work on time, but it was still the principle of the thing. For years, he had the same routine. It was a struggle getting out of old habits, but he figured Finn was worth the anxiety it brought.

Just as he was about to spit, he heard a massive crash, a loud grunt and then a roar that sent him running from the bathroom into Finn’s large bedroom. In the dim light coming from the side table, Roman gasped as he saw Finn, half changed into his demon form with one arm full pitch-black, with his claws gripping into the meaty flesh of a human assailant. 

Roman started forward, hand raised to set off a spell before he realized something. That long, lanky body, the rumpled jeans, the messy brown hair. And, oh - the knife pressed against his boyfriends throat.

Swallowing thickly, Roman’s voice cracked. “D-Dean?!”

As soon as he spoke, the shaggy head of hair turned to look at him. The knife was immediately tucked away and he hopped off of Finn in a flash, the Demon looking too alarmed and scandalized at the turn of events to move.

“Ro! You’re alive!” Dean’s voice was absurdly cheerful and his following hug was absurdly familiar for someone Roman hadn’t spoken to in over five years.

 

0 0 0 0 0

 

Roman stared at Dean, both of them sitting on one side of Finn’s dining table. Dean was carefully bandaging the wounds he had received from Finn, having seemingly come prepared for an absolute bloody mess of a fight tonight. If he was phased by anything, he didn’t show it - though Roman supposed he had always been that way. No matter what weird situation they had found themselves in, Dean had always been the one nonplussed.

It used to keep Roman calm, but now it was just weirding him out. Who showed up after five years just to attack your boyfriend out of the blue and then be chill about it a moment later?

Dean. _Dean._

“Hey, so.” The brown-haired man looked up from his bandaging, to give Roman a sort of half-apologetic smile. “I guess I made, uh, a miscalculation, huh? What a way to go for a reunion.”

“Dean.” Roman’s voice was half-confused and half-exasperated. It was so frustratingly like him. “What… How.. What are you even doing here?”

“Originally the plan was to rescue your soul for eternal damnation.” Dean explained. “However it seems like congratulations are in order. You sure can pick ‘em, man.”

“Please be serious for one moment.” Roman rubbed at his temples, exhaustion making this situation all the more hard to swallow. “We haven’t seen one another in five years. You disappeared off the face of the earth.”

_You disappeared from me._ He didn’t say it out loud, it hurt too much. Roman had tried to scry, tried mapping, tried anything to find Dean in the weeks after he had vanished. Eventually he had to admit that Dean had purposely hidden himself from Roman, using powerful enough magic that even Roman couldn’t get past it. He had tried it a few more times over the two years that followed. but it was clear that Dean wanted nothing more to do with him.

That had stung. After all they had been through with one another, and Dean had left him. It was one of the reasons he threw himself so thoroughly into his work. What else did he have after all?

He hadn’t noticed he was looking at the floor, until a light tendril of energy nudged against his shoulder. He could tell it was Finn, probably feeling his sadness from the kitchen where he was making tea and trying to cool off from the earlier confrontation.

_I’m fine._ Roman tried to convey, and the tendril seemed to understand as it slipped away.

“Roman…”

He looked up, trying to steel himself for whatever Dean had to say. He was sure Dean could tell the sudden wave of dejected emotion that had overtaken Roman at that moment.

“I… I’m so sorry, Roman.” Dean’s voice was low, and genuine. “I panicked. You an’ Seth were all I had and when he… he tried to Bind us. I freaked out. I just wanted to hide away. That…that was my biggest fear, y’know.”

“Yeah,” Roman acknowledged. Dean had admitted to them as much, when they were searching for a particularly nasty magical item that was used to capture the magic of those the original creator had killed. The idea of his magic being taken or manipulated scared the shit out of Dean. He spent most of his childhood dodging shady characters trying to use him for their own gain.

“It wasn’t you.” Dean continued, scratching the back of his neck. “I wish I coulda found a way to tell you. But… I figured you were doin’ so well on your own. I couldn’t ruin that.”

Roman raised an eyebrow at that. “How do you know?”

“You never blocked me out.” He sounded a tiny bit guilty now. “I checked in on you. Not, like, super invasive. I just wanted to make sure you got home… I figured you always talked about how good your parents were…” Dean looked down at his hands. “When you didn’t I got worried. Y’were all over the place and I almost wanted to find you, but… But then ya settled. And you stayed there for a while, and you felt - good.”

He chuckled a little bit. “I’m still a mess, y’know. And I thought maybe you’d settled down and didn’t need to see me. Then all of a sudden there was this demonic energy, like, a lot. And it got stronger and stronger, so uh, I got worried?”

The thing was, Roman knew that Dean was one-hundred percent telling the truth. He wasn’t a great liar, and more importantly hated bullshit of any sort. That didn’t make it hurt less to know that Dean had hid from him purposely. While it was nice to hear that the other man had worried about him, it also meant he didn’t trust Roman.

“Worried, huh?” Roman said, looking down at the table. The urge to ask where Dean was on those nights Roman came screaming awake from nightmares, or slept in for days when the loneliness got to be too much. Where was he then?

“Well, I’m fine.” Roman assured, then added. “Better than.”

“I know that now.” Dean at least sounded a little embarrassed. “I guess I should congratulate you.”

“He’s my boyfriend, Dean. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“I can still be happy for you.”

At that moment, Finn entered from the kitchen carrying two steaming mugs in his hands. He set one down in front of Roman and then after a slight hesitation, set the other in front of Dean. He still seemed tense, but he was definitely in control at this point. He pulled up a chair next to Roman, not quite touching, but hovering a little too close to be mistaken for anything but a familiar protective intimacy.

Dean didn’t seem all that bothered by the display. He reached out to pick up the mug and brought it to his nose to sniff, before taking a long sip. A second later his face twisted into a grimace and he quickly put the cup down. “Fuck. That’s hot, what the hell?” He looked up at Finn accusingly. 

The demon looked affronted and annoyed. “I just made it, of course it’s hot.”

“It took you that long just to make tea.” Dean’s voice rose. His blue eyes flickered to Roman. 

Roman quickly cut in before the two could start any sort of argument. He could tell Finn was growing irritated that there was a stranger in their home. And his own confusing emotions towards Dean probably weren’t helping fuel Finn’s confidence. 

“Okay, chill out.” Roman rubbed at his eyes, stifling a yawn. “Look, it’s really late Dean. I’m not dead or in any danger of dying any time soon. How about we talk about this another time?”

Dean’s eyes widened, and sat up ramrod straight. Roman could see the struggle in his eyes as the situation seemed to dawn on him. Dean’s childhood had been an entire work of ‘fake it till you make it’, but eventually the cracks would start to show. The other man suddenly rose to his feet, eyes looking a little vacant and lost as he stepped back. 

“Shit. Roman.” His voice shook slightly. “Fuck. I shouldn’t have done this. I’m so fucking sorry. I. Fuck.”

Roman could tell this was going to go off the rails fairly quickly and he got to his feet and cautiously moved toward Dean. “Deep breaths, D.” Roman’s voice was quiet and steady. “I’m not mad, just tired. Hey - hey look at me.”

It took a moment, but Dean’s blue eyes managed to lock onto Roman’s. “Y-yeah?”

“Come by the shop tomorrow, okay? I’ll be there by 5:30. We can talk before any customers come in.” Roman explained. Then he clasped his hands together, if only to stop himself from reaching out. No matter how felt about Dean leaving him behind, he would never like seeing the other witch like this. “Please.”

Dean nodded, swallowing thickly. “Yeah, yeah. I can do that, Rome.”

In the blink of an eye, Dean held out a hand, palm down to the floor beneath him. A familiar quick-sigil appeared on the floor, three interlocking silver circles, and then Dean was gone. Roman watched, his heart constricting as the lines of their sigil slowly dissolved. He stared at the spot for a long time, fists clenched, as his emotions ran the gamut between anger and happiness.

He nearly jumped as he felt Finn’s warm hand touch his shoulder. He glanced over at the demon, not quite sure what he could even say. Thankfully, his boyfriend understood and wrapped an arm around Roman’s waist to lead him back to the bedroom, radiating his own comforting, warm energy.

 

0 0 0 0 0

 

The next morning, Roman had been extremely reluctant to leave the warmth and comfort of his boyfriend’s king bed. Finn wasn’t much of a help, not exactly protesting Roman’s sluggish movements, perfectly content to keep his arms wrapped around Roman even as he said over and over again that he needed to get up. Eventually though, his good conscious won out and Roman got up and got dressed for work. Finn escorted him - by way of teleportation to work and left him with a kiss and promise to call if he needed anything. Not too subtly hinting at the fact that Dean was supposed to show up for a talk.

5:30 came and there was no sign of Dean yet, and Roman gave it about a 35 percent chance that the other man would actually show up. In the meantime, he busied himself prepping for the day. There were croissants to heat up, sandwiches to make and new recipes to begin testing. Sasha wouldn’t be in until around 6:45 to get the coffee brewing before their earliest customers showed up.

Roman generally enjoyed this hour to himself. It was still dark outside, and streets were calm and peaceful. He didn’t even need to play music, the sounds of spoons and pans and mixers were calming enough. His thoughts felt most at peace so early in the morning, and he found it was the best time for him to hash out any issues he had been mulling over.

To his surprise, around 6, he heard the squawk of the dove above his door before a sharp hissing sound and startled yelp beckoned him from the kitchen. Wiping his hands on a hand towel, he hurried to see exactly whom had decided sneaking into a magical cafe was a smart idea.

He nearly tripped over his own feet when he saw exactly who had been caught in his trap. One Dean Ambrose, hands raised was glaring at the red bars of energy shooting up from a sigil on the floor and surrounding him. Roman couldn’t help but be embarrassed, he had so little faith in the other man that the thought of turning off his security spells hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Hurriedly, he muttered something under his breath and swiped a quick symbol on the ground with his foot. The bars of energy dissolved and both he and Dean simultaneously let out a sigh of relief.

Roman’s hands gripped the towel he had been carrying as he cleared his throat, slowly approaching Dean. “Uh, good morning.”

Dean looked a little surprised to see him, as though he couldn’t quite believe he had shown up either. “Hey…” He sounded so uncertain, his eyes darting around the cafe. “I know I came kind of late, if you need me to go…”

“No, no.” Roman said hurriedly and beckoned him with one hand. “I’m still getting stuff together. We can talk in the back while I work.”

“Sure..” Dean sounded the exact opposite of sure.

However, he did follow Roman to the back, dragging his boots the entire way. Roman considered that maybe the easiest thing to do was just to go about his business. The two of them staring at one another, trying to decide who was going to make the first move would likely just make this whole thing worst. So, Roman decided to head back over to wear he was slicing a few bread loafs to put out. He could feel Dean’s eyes on him the whole time, it made his skin tingle, but he didn’t feel unsafe.

Eventually he heard the slight give of metal as Dean likely leaned himself against one his tables. The silence ticked by and Roman began to realize that this was only going to work if he at least said something. He had limited time before Sasha arrived, and he knew that once that happened Dean was going to slip away for who knew how long. This was there only chance to reconnect, or at the very least get some sort of closure.

“So,” Roman began, his voice a little louder than normal since he wasn’t facing Dean. “How has Lima been? She’s usually attached to your hip.”

Silence, for a long time and Roman began to think it was a lost cause. But then. “She’s, uh, outside actually.” Dean admitted. 

“Oh?” Roman was surprised and a little disappointed. “You know she’s always welcome.”

“I know that.” Dean said. “But, she’s… well, she feels guilty. About what happened with Sierra.”

Roman paused, his knife hovering just above the last slice of bread he was cutting. He swallowed, trying not to let his voice shake. “That… that wasn’t her fault.”

“I know.” Dean repeated, earnest. “But she thinks you’ll be upset with her. She…she tried so hard to stop her.”

“‘Course she did.” Roman sliced the final piece of bread. “Well, you’ll tell her I miss her? And that it’s not her fault. Sierra would be so upset that she’s blaming herself.”

He couldn’t see it, but he was sure Dean was nodding. “No problem.” Dean fell quiet for only a moment. “I.. I tried too you know. To save her. I’m so sorry, Roman.”

“Dean, it wasn’t your fault.” Roman turned around now, wanting to show Dean he was being truthful. “Seth was the one who put Sierra in the position where she felt she needed to sacrifice herself.”

“The fucker got off scot-free for it too.” Dean growled, his jaw clenched tight. “I hope whatever demon he was making deals with tore him a new one.”

“Sure.” Roman thought of the classy demons he had scene in the Underworld Lounge. He couldn’t imagine any of them making a deal with someone as weaselly as Seth. To be honest he had moved from angry to just bitterly disappointed when it came to Seth. He didn’t have the strength to continue hating so stringently, it just wasn’t healthy for him.

Speaking of healthy coping. “How have you been Dean?” Roman knew better than to ask where he had been. It was obvious that Dean didn’t want him too close.

“Fine, I guess.” He rubbed the back of his neck, sounding contemplative. “Keeping to myself.”

Roman nodded and went to find some trays to begin putting items on. Neither he nor Dean necessarily ever needed to work again. The type of black market materials they had been running had amassed them a pretty sizable fortune. In the aftermath of the showdown with Seth, Dean had taken his 1/3 and ran for it. After realizing he wasn’t going to find Dean, he had done the same - never really understanding why he had left a fair share for Seth after what he had done.

“You finally get a chance to go on that hike?” Roman asked.

“The Pacific Crest Trail?” Dean’s voice leapt a little. “You remembered that?”

“You didn’t stop bugging us about it for nearly two years.” Roman reminded him. “How could I forget?”

Dean sighed wistfully. “Not yet. I’ve been distracted.” Roman could feel the hesitation coming off of him before he continued. “I built a house, up in the mountains. It took about a year and a half. Me and Lima had to rough it in a tent for a few months.”

“I’m sure she loved that.” Dean’s familiar was as much of a nature lover as her owner.

“She was pretty much over it once it started snowing.” Dean said with a chuckle. “But yeah, that’s kept me busy. Trying to make it look nice, started gardening a little.”

Roman felt his chest warm at the thought of Dean putting together a home for himself. Even when they all lived together, Dean seemed to let Seth and Roman set the atmosphere of their home. He had his small creature comforts, but generally didn’t give much input on the decor or state of the house. He adapted to the house, much like he had done all throughout his childhood. It was good that Dean finally had a place that he could create and be completely comfortable in.

“I’m proud of you, Dean.” Roman said softly, trying not to let his sadness betray him. Of course he was happy for Dean, he just wished he could have experienced that with him.

“H-hey, its nothing special.” Dean looked at the floor. “Some of us went and started our own damn business. Pretty fuckin’ cool if you ask me.”

“Thanks, Dean.” Roman tapped his chin and hummed lightly. “Can you help me carry these out the display cases?”

“Oh, uh, sure.”

They both took trays and carried them out to the area behind the register. The sun had since come out, and looking over, Roman could just make out the large gray and white form of Lima sitting guard by the door. He considered going out to let her in, but he figured it would be more stressful than helpful just to suddenly confront the poor dog. He began putting the cakes and croissants into the display cases, feeling oddly at ease after the conversation he had just had with Dean. 

“Roman,” Dean’s voice was small and unsure. “Why didn’t you go home?”

Roman paused before shutting the case, placing the tray on top. He couldn’t quite look at Dean, instead focusing on dusting his hands off on his apron. He didn’t want to answer, though he had spent plenty of time exploring the reasoning himself. Why had he just fucked off to some random town instead of sucking it up and heading home? The answer had been something that kept him without sleep for months. It was one of the reasons he had started stress baking when he couldn’t bare to try and sleep.

“You were my family, Dean.” Roman’s voice was soft, quiet. “You left me. And Sierra was gone. I thought… maybe I wasn’t meant to have anyone. If you couldn’t stand to be around me. Why would anyone else?”

He had never said the words out loud, never confessed them to a soul. Who did he have to confess to? It had eaten him up inside, almost destroyed him until he found a way to work through it. The feeling of rejection never went away, but he was able to compartmentalize it, place it in a small box marked ‘save for later’ and never bother with it again.But the fear it instilled in him never quite went away. His hesitancy with Finn, his initial discomfort with intimacy - it was what couldn’t quite be put away in that little box.

“What the hell, Roman.” Dean’s voice was rough. “That’s ridiculous - how could you think that? I didn’t leave because of you.”

“Well that’s what if felt like.” Roman said. There was no accusation in his voice, just a statement of fact. “I didn’t want to go home and have them take me in out of pity. I thought I deserved to be alone, and so thats what I did.”

“Until you met Finn.” Dean supplied.

“Not quite.” Roman corrected. “I met Sasha first, and Naomi and Lana. I was baking so much, I needed to give the food away. One weekends, theres a little market in the park. I started selling them. Eventually, it just kind of - got out of hand.”

Dean looked around and huffed. “That’s one way to put it.” His blue eyes caught Roman’s. “Finn seems to really care about you.”

Roman shifted uncomfortably, and shrugged one shoulder. “I…well, yeah. I hope so.” He ducked his head. “I care about him too.”

“Just as long as he’s on the level.” Dean paused and then added. “He seems good for you. I really am happy for you, Roman.”

Roman couldn’t help but smile a little, he rubbed his arm a little awkwardly. It felt weird discussing his boyfriend with Dean of all people, but at the same time it felt right. Like he was actually introducing his family to his boyfriend. That meant the relationship was really important. And it truly was, possible more so than any other Roman had previously had.

“He is good for me. Claws and all.” Roman made a little clawing motion with his hand and giggled at Dean’s incredulous look. 

“Spare me any specific details.” Dean pleaded. Suddenly, his eyes widened and clasped his hands together. “You think Finn would want to go hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail?”

“Well,” Roman mused. “If you stick around, maybe you’ll get a chance to ask him.”

 

0 0 0 0 0

 

“Boytoy, straight ahead.” 

Roman’s looked up at Sasha’s voice, just in time to see Finn walking through the doors. He was idly wiping off the counters, the afternoon havinga little lull as usual. He smiled and leaned over to greet the demon with a chaste kiss and then rested his arms on top of the counter.

“You’re a little earlier than usual.” Roman was surprised. “Everything okay?”

“Only worked half a day.” Finn explained. He seemed oddly nervous, and Roman realized he was dressed down, devoid of suit and actually wearing sneakers. “I just wanted to make sure everything was ready.”

“For what?” Roman raised an eyebrow. He was fairly certain he wasn’t missing any dates that they had scheduled.

“Camping? With Dean?” Finn’s eyebrows knitted together and he seemed confused by the question. “We’re leaving tomorrow morning, right?”

“You agreed to go camping with Dean?” Roman asked, both eyebrows shooting up now. 

“He told me he asked you!” Finn’s jaw dropped, and he leaned toward Roman. “He didn’t ask you?”

“Oh he asked.” Roman said, barely stifling his giggles. He folded his arms across his chest. “And I told him no.”

Finn groaned, and he looked like was about to fall. “ _Roman_. I was only going because you were going.”

“Should’ve checked with me first, babe.” Roman reached across to pat his boyfriend on the shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll both have a great time though.”

Finn just groaned again, this time slowly slumping against counter as Roman guffawed, unable to hold in his laughter.


End file.
